


with a look in ya eye so devilish

by SEpupppupp (ForNought)



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: First Meeting, M/M, Sungwoon is already drunk before the start of the fic, excessive use of the word "bitch"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-16 00:16:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13042530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForNought/pseuds/SEpupppupp
Summary: #7: Jisung and his best friend Sungwoon think it is a good idea to go to strip bar for Christmas eve. Except, he doesn't expect a handsome clumsy worker (Daniel) to take a liking to him, asking if he could take him home





	with a look in ya eye so devilish

**Author's Note:**

> title from Sisqo - Thong Song

“I need to get drunk,” Sungwoon says as he barges into Jisung's flat. 

Until this moment Jisung had happily been baking cookies and singing along to the Christmas songs on the radio. It is quite difficult to continue when Sungwoon has taken the cookie mixture hostage and is spooning it directly into his mouth. The spoon exits Sungwoon’s mouth and is dunked back into the bowl to scoop more mixture into his mouth. Rinse and repeat. No more cookies for Jisung. 

Sungwoon is halfway through the bowl when he locks eyes with Jisung. “Aren't you going to say anything?”

He's right. Jisung flicks a tea towel at Sungwoon. “How dare you deprive me of my Christmas cookies?”

“You haven't baked them yet. You're depriving yourself of cookies,” Sungwoon scoffs. “And not that. I need to get drunk and I want you to come with me.”

“Why should we get drunk?”

Sungwoon rolls his eyes as he swallows another spoonful of unfulfilled cookies. “We are both single and it is Christmas eve. And we're old. We need to drown our sorrows.”

Jisung isn't particularly bothered about his age to this extent. He could be earning a little more money and making his parents a little prouder but he is a manager at a shoe shop and he is enjoying things as they are. He has a home that he pays rent for himself and he has friends who are very kind, and he has fun with his sister on their weekly dates. The only thing he would like to change is Sungwoon eating his cookies. 

But Sungwoon looks like loneliness doesn't suit him so Jisung agrees. Going out drinking is something that lots of people do. There are pubs and bars everywhere. Jisung has never been to the place Sungwoon takes him to. 

Once inside, things become very clear to Jisung. He should have been clued in from the name of the bar - Garters and Gals didn't strike Jisung as a very good name but once he was unbuttoning his coat he noticed a lot of garters and gals on display - but Sungwoon brought him here without any warning. He waits until they are seated on stools at the bar before he says anything. 

“Sungwoon, this is a strip club.”

“Naturally, I don't want to be surrounded a bunch of men at a time like this,” Sungwoon says as though Jisung's intelligence is in question. The barman chuckles as he stops in front of them. Sungwoon quickly orders Pornstar martinis for them and the barman gets to work. 

The barman is tall and broad shouldered and he is wearing fuzzy reindeer antlers on his head. The whole time he makes their cocktails the bells on his antlers jingle and he grins so wide his eyes become twinkling crescents. The deftness of his hands as he tosses bottles of syrup into the air is a marvel to witness and he continues crafting the drinks with fluidity that has Jisung unable to contain his brimming envy. 

“You're very good at that,” Jisung says as he leans across the bar. “How many times in the past have you messed it up and dropped everything?”

The barman falters for a moment and his lips press together before splitting into a grin once more. He chuckles and rubs his nose as he reaches for a brass-coloured stirrer. 

“This is the first time I haven’t dropped anything.”

Sungwoong doesn’t even wait for the passion fruit garnish to be added before he plucks a glass from the bar and waves his card in the barman’s direction. He swigs from the glass and says, “You’re doing well. Not well enough to tip yet though.”

Jisung slaps Sungwoon’s arm and gets an injured glare for his trouble. The barman laughs, a squeaky breathless sound which is free of the offence that should be there. It still isn’t nice that he had to hear something like that so Jisung says, “I’m sorry about him. I think he has already been drinking and he gets vicious with a bit of alcohol inside him.”

“Do you think it is wise to talk about me like that before I have even paid for your drink?” Sungwoon asks without any trace of a smile. 

The barman laughs again and processes the payment cheerily. He passes Sungwoon his receipt and says, “You don't need to tip me. The management here pay me.”

Sungwoon jabs a thumb over his shoulder and says, “Don't the ladies get paid too? I still have to tip them.”

The barman chuckles. Jisung wonders how it has happened that this man hasn't stopped laughing but he supposes some people are really that cheerful. It's cute. Jisung thinks that the laughing alone is enough to improve his mood. It is almost as though Sungwoon had never barged into his flat and stolen his cookies. It might have been worth coming out here as a lonely singleton after all. 

Jisung decides in that moment, when the barman’s face is scrunched up and he is snickering into his hands, that he is going to tip him. But it will have to be later in the evening when he is at least tipsy and he can trick himself into thinking that this man would be happy for the way Jisung's subconscious distaste for loneliness manifests. Until then, Jisung is sober enough to maintain his line about being happily single at the second most romantic time of year. 

But for now Jisung is still very much in control of his impulses and there are other customers for the barman to serve. Jisung sips his martini and doesn't pay any attention to the barman as he laughs for the other customers and almost drops the cocktail shaker. It seems like he is flustered as he strains the martini into the glasses and that isn't at all how he was with Jisung. It just goes to show how the mind seeks validation even where there is none. 

Sungwoon nearly topples right off his barstool with the thrum of bass and a change in the music. The lights on the main stage are dim but Jisung only knows this because he has to turn all the way around to rescue Sungwoon from eating carpet. 

“How much have you had to drink already?” Jisung chides. “Do you think any of the dancers will take pity on you being in this state?”

Sungwoon takes care of himself so he doesn't look as ridiculous as he should when he turns wide watery eyes up at Jisung. His lips part and his his glass skin shimmers under the fairy lights strung above them. 

Sungwoon sniffs. “I hope they all band together and take advantage of a poor, lonely singleton like me. At least if they rob me blind I will be too worried about that to care about turning into a sad and lonely thirty year old like you.”

“I should have let you fall,” Jisung says darkly. The barman has returned, snickering and hunching his shoulders over the bar. Normally Jisung wouldn't make the clarification but being around Sungwoon is making him sensitive. “I'm not thirty yet.”

“I didn't think you were. I was surprised,” the barman says. “I was going to tell you that you look very good for your age.”

Sungwoon snorts into his martini. “How old do you think he is?”

“Don't you have money to be tucking into thongs right now?” Jisung retorts hotly. 

“Do you think I can go over there? Even if they weren't standing onstage they would be twice my height.”

The barman laughs again and Jisung didn't think he had drunk enough for his brain to fixate on the sparkles in his eyes. It is worse when the barman says, “Aren't you tempted to ask for a dance?”

“Maybe later,” Jisung shrugs. He had assumed that the barman somehow benefited from the tips too so he doesn't know what to make of the twinkling of the barman’s eyes and the small smile as he leans across the bar. 

“Good. Can I get you something else to drink?” 

Jisung sighs. He is almost finished with the Pornstar martini and the fruity taste is still pleasantly dancing at the back of his tongue, carefully coaxing out words Jisung's rational self would never say aloud. He needs something else and he supposes Sungwoon would appreciate another drink seeing as his glass has long been empty. 

Jisung slides his wallet out of his pocket. “Can I have two Woo Woos please?”

Sungwoon groans and bangs his head on the bar hard enough that he must be willing to lose half a million brain cells. His forehead is red and his eyes are brimming with tears as he says, “I refuse to have that bitch drink. Buy me something good. I'm sure this kid - what is your name anyway? Daniel? Daniel, really? whatever - I'm sure Daniel is sick of making fifty bitch drinks a day. Make us something cool.”

Jisung narrows his eyes at Sungwoon. If the Woo Woo is a bitch drink then the Pornstar is too yet he didn't have a problem necking a glass of that. He looks up at the barman and flinches back from the expectant gaze turned on him. 

Perhaps Jisung is feeling bold because of the Pornstar inside him. He shifts a bit closer and the edge of the bar bites into his torso as he asks, “What would you recommend, Daniel?”

The barman’s eyes crinkle happily and Jisung wishes he had learnt his name earlier. It is the vodka and a bit of surfacing vanity which makes him add, “I’m Jisung, by the way.” 

“No bitch drinks!” Sungwoon instructs seriously. 

“I could make you a drink called the Zombie,” Daniel suggests. His eyes shift to Sungwoon momentarily and when he looks back at Jisung he leans closer and smiles as he beckons Jisung to share a secret. “It is the strongest drink we make.”

Spite flares in Jisung’s chest. He smiles back at Daniel and nods. Sungwoon demanded he not have another bitch drink. This would be what he deserves. With a name like Zombie it sounds dangerous enough to save Sungwoon from a fate of being lonely and single (and almost almost thirty) at Christmas. 

Daniel chuckles and gets to work setting two brassy looking tin cans on the bar and filling them with crushed ice. He pours more ice into a shaker and only smiles as Sungwoon loudly asks what sort of bitch drink Jisung and Daniel had decided on. Daniel grabs bottles in quick succession and pours measures into a vial which he tips into the sleek black shaker before squirting amber syrup inside too. 

He caps the shaker and very nearly drops it as soon as he lifts it from the bar. He giggles away the tail of his gasp and grins at Jisung. 

“That was close,” Jisung remarks as Daniel gently agitates the cocktail shaker. 

“Do a trick,” Sungwoon requests. 

“I can't do any tricks,” Daniel replies sadly. “There is a barman who is really cool and impressive but he wanted Christmas off to spend with his family for some reason.”

Jisung snorts and Daniel smiles at him as he keeps shaking the drinks. Jisung looks away and reminds himself that Daniel is at work and part of his job is being nice to customers and loosening them up enough that they get generous with the dancers. 

Daniel screws the lid off the shaker and holds a grille over opening as he pours the cocktail through a sieve into the cans filled with crushed ice. Using a small silver juicer he squeezes lime juice over the top and perches the lime halves on the mound in each of the cups. 

“What's that?” Sungwoon asks. 

“It's a lime,” Jisung points out. Sungwoon thumps his arm. 

“I know what a lime is and I wasn't asking you. Daniel,” Sungwoon says with a deliberate simper, “What is with this ugly garnish?”

“I haven't finished, I swear!” Daniel says as he stops chuckling at the spat. He places brown sugar cubes in the hollows of the limes and pours brandy over the top. “You might want to lean back a bit.”

Jisung is surprised that Sungwoon heeds the warning so easily, especially considering the mood he is in tonight. Daniel smirks and Jisung decides to shuffle even further back on his barstool so he can dilute the effect of the heat in his eyes. 

With a flourish Daniel presents a small blowtorch before igniting the sugar cubes. Waves of blue flames send sprays of glowing red sugar grains into the air and the caramelised sugar and fructose hits to back of Jisung's throat. 

If he was having trouble keeping back errant thoughts with just one martini inside him, seeing Daniel light the Zombie on fire renders the grappling of his sensibilities lame. 

“That was really hot.”

“Oh,” Daniel says as he puts away the blowtorch. “You have to blow out the fire first so you don’t burn yourself. Some people tip the sugar cube into the drink and other people eat it.”

Jisung had meant that seeing Daniel setting things on fire was extremely attractive but he supposes this meaning works as well. Sungwoon blows hard on the sugar cube to extinguish the flame before tossing it into his mouth and wincing at the taste. He gives a thumbs up as he helps himself to a straw and stabs it into the crushed ice. He winces again as he drinks the cocktail and Jisung is hesitant to try his own. 

“This is definitely not a bitch drink,” Sungwoon says decisively. 

Jisung looks down at his Zombie. There is nothing wrong with bitch drinks, he decides. In fact he doesn't know why anyone would refer to the sweeter and less deadly cocktails as such, as though it was a bad thing that Jisung likes to have a good time and not die.  

He still isn't certain about drinking it and when he lifts his gaze from the flames he is yet to extinguish Daniel is looking expectantly from across the bar. 

“How much is it?” Jisung asks as he gestures to the drinks. 

Daniel's lips part but he doesn't say anything. He swipes his tongue across the swell of his lower lip and clears his throat before he says, “I don't know. How much do you want to pay?”

Jisung frowns. This isn't how most businesses operate and Sungwoon didn't have this negotiation. Jisung holds up his card. “I can pay contactless, can't I?”

Daniel hesitates and he almost looks like he is about to put the drinks through the cash register but some other resolve overtakes him. 

“If you wanted to I could get you a drink.” Daniel's cheeks take one a merrier hue and the twinkling in his eyes seems more pronounced now that Jisung can see the tightness around his jaw.

Jisung is almost thirty and even when he tries his hardest to appeal to people when he is shopping for groceries or on his commute to work (because bonds forged in places like these are statistically more successful than nightclub hook-ups, though Jisung can't say he has seen much success there either) people call him funny or sassy or goofy. After having a good old chinwag they part ways amicably and greet each other if they meet again but that is it. It was the same when Jisung was younger and had more hopes for his heart and he was the designated wingman. People didn't offer to buy Jisung drinks. Especially not people who looked like Daniel with broad shoulders and charmingly upturned corners of his mouth and a depth in his eyes which had Jisung slipping even before his first sip of alcohol. 

“Why would you buy me a drink?” Jisung asks. 

Before Daniel can reply, Sungwoon dips his head to snuff out the sugar cube on Jisung's drink and he crunches it noisily between his teeth. The theft of Jisung's drink is sealed with Sungwoon using his straw to suck Jisung's drink out of his cup. 

“That wasn't yours,” Daniel says quietly. Jisung smiles. 

“He's sad and single. We should let him have this,” Jisung says magnanimously. 

Sungwoon kicks Jisung in the shin. Because Jisung is kind he doesn’t retaliate and holds out his card until Daniel offers the card reader to take the payment for the cocktails. 

“They're two for one,” Daniel says sadly as he prints off the receipt. 

“Or two for none from my point of view,” Jisung says as he takes the slip of paper. He doesn't even check the price because Daniel laughs, bright and loud, and he very nearly keels over with how hard he is wheezing. 

Jisung tears his eyes away because Sungwoon catching him smiling at Daniel’s laugh is already incriminating enough, but then Sungwoon stops squinting suspiciously at Jisung. Over the PA system a familiar beat plays though Jisung can’t quite place it, especially not with the intermittent record scratches and bells jingling over the sorrowful violins and the sharp snare beats. 

Sungwoon is enraptured by the woman walking across the stage, dipping and twisting to the beat until it drops and he all but falls off the barstool. Jisung sighs and helps Sungwoon up while Daniel is struggling to breathe on the other side of the bar. 

“Wow,” Sungwoon says when he is upright once more and staring at the dancer clad in tinsel and little else. He blindly reaches for Jisung’s Zombie and takes a long draw. “I have never heard a festive remix of The Thong Song before.”

That is something that Sungwoon and Jisung have in common, however Jisung hasn’t entered a state of hypnosis because of it - though if he is being frank it is clear that Sungwoon isn’t in this state because of the song either.

Bells of various tinkles and jingles ring and trumpets blast over Sisqo’s ode to thongs and the woman on stage gyrates in ways that would make Jisung blush if he weren’t trying so hard not to outwardly laugh at his friend. When the dancer’s nipple tassels jingle as she shimmies it looks as though all of Sungwoon’s Christmases have come at once - except they aren’t all the Christmases where he got scolded by his parents for sneaking stealthy slices of Christmas cake before it has settled and been fed full of brandy, or any of the Christmases where he gets dumped right after buying Pandora bracelets for girlfriends and instead are the ones where he is watching a very tall and beautiful woman shake her ass to the tune of a strange Holiday remix of a song about underwear from the year 1999. So only this Christmas. But it is quite a big Christmas - and he sighs and slips down from his stool. 

“That’s my wife,” Sungwoon says. “Do you think she will have me? Jisung, do you have any money? It’s an emergency and she needs all of it.”

Jisung hands over the smallest banknote he has because this doesn’t really constitute an emergency but Sungwoon looks close to tears. He drifts away and Daniel taps Jisung on the shoulder and giggles. 

Jisung looks back at him and tries not to think about how they are alone (aside from everyone else at the bar).

“Are you going to go after him or will you stay here?”

“Do you want me to go?” Jisung asks. Sungwoon could do with a babysitter but Jisung doesn't think he is quite drunk enough to take on that role just yet. 

Daniel shakes his head and smiles wider. “You should stay, Jisung. Wait for me to finish work.”

That is the precise moment that Jisung’s soul leaves his body. Daniel is smiling as he rests his elbows on the bar and with a tilt of his head his hair is falling into his eyes and below the crinkle of his eyes is a beauty spot that Jisung’s eyes had been skittering over for quite some time as he pretended not to notice. Daniel is beautiful and has already offered to buy Jisung a drink and there is a very high chance that some Christmas elves spiked his drink to induce this unbelievable fantasy. 

“I should stay?” Jisung asks. Daniel nods. 

“I would like it very much if you stayed here with me until closing. And then maybe we could go home and wait for Santa together.”

Jisung feels sorry about the fact that he snorts, if mostly for the fact that he is certain he sprayed snot on the bar. He grabs a handful of napkins from the nearby dispenser and turns away to blow his nose to prevent any future mishaps. He should be careful. He doesn’t want to end up like Sungwoon dropping to his knees and trying to make it rain with his meager earnings to the tune of The Thong Song.

When Jisung turns back to face Daniel he is peering uncertainly at him as he wipes at the bar surface with a cloth. 

“Sorry,” Daniel says. It is the first time all night that his expression has dropped. Jisung would do anything to rectify that. This is the real emergency. Jisung is about ready to thrust all of his money and worldly possessions at Daniel right before the barman says, “We’ve only just met.”

“You’re right,” Jisung manages to say with as much composure as he can muster. “You haven’t even bought me that drink yet.”

It is way too bold for Jisung who has begun to feel delicately unappealing with just one drink inside him, but Daniel gapes. 

“I’ll be right back!”

Jisung doesn’t even get to ask where Daniel is going before the barman has bolted, tossing half-formed apologies to the other customers as he runs. He has disappeared into the back but Jisung assumes that the very loud thump he hears is Daniel falling over. 

Jisung glances over his shoulder and wishes he had the foresight to not do that. Sungwoon is on one knee serenading a stripper. She looks bemused about the whole thing and Jisung is sure that Sungwoon is crying. He’ll have to go home soon, though Jisung thinks he might be alright if he is securely in a taxi home. Jisung doesn’t need to take him home and fetch him water and painkillers and make sure he washes his face and gets into bed. Sungwoon is lucid enough to do all of that himself. Which would leave Jisung free to wait for Santa with Daniel. 

When Daniel returns he looks ruffled and is straightening out his clothes with a smile on his face. He looks nervous when Jisung reaches his arms out but he leans closer when Jisung gestures. 

He is so close and his eyes are closed as he holds his breath. There is a furrow between his brows and Jisung wants to smooth away the tension but there is already a haze in his brain that doesn’t need to thicken to a choking smog just because he is following his ill-advised impulses despite not being drunk enough to have an excuse. He slides the fuzzy antler headband off Daniel’s head and some of his hair is caught on the green felt of headband. Jisung uses careful and slow fingers to comb the light strands free. Daniel exhales shakily and Jisung can’t even believe that someone like this is asking him to stay. 

“I think this would be much safer with me,” Jisung says. His throat feels dry and he shouldn’t have let Sungwoon steal his drink earlier. He shoves the headband onto his own head and wobbles experimentally to hear the small bells tinkle quietly. 

Daniel chuckles and his eyes flutter open. He stands up straight and rubs at the berry flush of his cheeks when he says, “It looks better on you than on me.”

“That’s nonsense,” Jisung says quickly. “I said it would be  _ safer _ with me anyway. Did you fall over?”

Daniel laughs and nods his head as the red stain deepens. Jisung pats his hand sympathetically. “You should be more careful! What are you going to do if you get hurt, Daniel?”

“I’ll ask you to kiss it better.”

Jisung sits up straight. There is no denying that Daniel is definitely flirting with him. Jisung wonders whether one martini is enough of an excuse to vault over the bar and ask all the places Daniel wants to be kissed better. 

Daniel chuckles nervously. “Sorry. I’m not being very professional right now.”

Daniel is absolutely right about that but it is Christmas (almost!) and he should be allowed to act unprofessional and make Jisung think this is something that could last beyond the pointless days between Christmas and the new year.

“Do you think I want you to be professional?” Jisung asks. Daniel looks surprised at the question and slowly shakes his head. “That’s right. I want to do very unprofessional things with you.” 

Daniel laughs again. He holds up a debit card. “I should probably buy you a drink first.”

Jisung doesn’t need another drink. He his happy to pretend he is drunker than he is for the chance to trip into bed with this very attractive barman, but he wants to feel flattered. 

“What are you going to get me?” 

“I want to buy you my favourite drink to make,” Daniel says. “It is a bit difficult but it looks really pretty when it is finished. A bit like you.”

Jisung laughs. “Which one of us has been drinking?”

Daniel pouts a bit. Jisung closes his hand tighter over Daniel’s. Daniel is the cute one here. Jisung smiles up at him and says, “Tell me more about this drink.”

“Um. You should drink it quickly before your friend gets back. He will probably call it a bitch drink.”

“Then it’s a good thing I like bitch drinks.”

Daniel laughs and it is confirmed that he laughs at anything regardless of any actual humour in the situation. Jisung doesn’t mind because Daniel has a very nice laugh and he feels himself smiling along each time he hears the husky sound and sees the bunching of Daniel’s cheeks which draws Jisung’s eyes to the twinkling of Daniel’s irises. 

Daniel puts a drink through the cash register and busies himself with making another cocktail. Jisung tries not to watch too much because each time Daniel meets his eyes he spills something or almost drops it and Jisung doesn't think he can bear the responsibility of Daniel dropping a whole bottle of something. A quick flip through the menu reveals the strip club sells bottles of spirits which cost ten times as much as a bottle of anything from a convenience store.

Because Jisung is trying to be helpful by not watching the concocting of the drink he is startled when a conical glass overflowing with white foam which sparkles with the light of the fairy lights strung above the bar. 

It looks especially festive with two candy canes peeking snugly from the midst of the glittering foam. 

“What is this one called?” Jisung asks. 

Daniel looks very pleased with himself when he says, “This is called Tinkerbell! I think I made it really well today!”

Jisung doesn't know anything about this drink but he isn't inclined to disagree. It looks very pretty and Daniel smiles expectantly down at Jisung. 

Jisung plucks a straw from the holder and pierces the foam. He takes a sip and shudders at the sherbet tingle of lemon. 

“Did I do it wrong?” Daniel asks worriedly. 

Jisung licks the sweet citrus from his lips and smiles. He wouldn't know whether Daniel had made the cocktail incorrectly or not but even if it was awful this is something Jisung would happily tell a sugar white untruth about. 

“It's perfect,” Jisung says. Daniel sighs in relief and tension leaks from the line of his shoulders slowly. Jisung sips more of the drink through his straw and he feels the lightness of the lemon tickle the roof of his mouth. 

It isn't much but it is all the excuse Jisung needs. His lips loosen and his eyes sharpen and his focus narrows to this one beautiful man who bought him a drink and asked him to stay. 

Daniel only recently turned twenty one and he has worked in the strip club for six months, though he didn't guess the nature of the establishment until his interview, and he rescued two cats who begrudge his cuddles to various degrees. 

Daniel is showing Jisung pictures of his cats who don’t look particularly begrudging of Daniel’s affection when one of Daniel’s co-workers taps him in the shoulder to remind him it is almost closing time. Sungwoon arrives seconds later, grumbling into Jisung’s shoulder about how badly he is going to feel his hangover tomorrow morning. His supposed wife is nowhere in sight and Sungwoon looks like he could do with more cookies. 

“Should we get you home?” Jisung asks as he cuddles Sungwoon to his side. 

“Yes, please, take me somewhere else that I can be lonely, single and sad,” Sungwoon sighs. 

“Oh! You're not going to come to--?” Daniel cuts himself off and waves away his words before he makes some excuse to wipe down the tables and lift the chairs off the floor ready for one of his coworkers to mop.

“What is he saying?” Sungwoon asks, his voice as sharp as the lemon tang to the Tinkerbell. Sungwoon is very similar to the drink and that must be why it doesn't go down very smoothly. Jisung shrugs and sips his drink again but it isn't a good enough escape and Sungwoon snatches it away and downs the remainder. For someone who is complaining about an impending hangover he isn't keen on making the morning easier on himself. 

“What was he saying? What aren't you going to do?”

“Wow, you're really drunk, Sungwoon! We should get you home!” Jisung says. 

Sungwoon, as drunk as he is, doesn’t let it go that easily. “Hold on,” he says, drunken detective incarnate, “You said you were going to take me home and then… What are you wearing on your head? You were going to go home with him, weren’t you? You slut! I’m drunk and alone and you’re making plans to hook up with some hot guy? You’d really ditch me for a hot guy?”

“Did you bring me here for a reason other than ditching me for hot women?” Jisung retorts.

“Have I actually done that?” Sungwoon asks injuredly. “I’m here, aren’t I? I’m ready to go home with my best friend. And he is making plans to get some ass.”

Said ass appears right at the wrong time and Jisung doesn't know what to say to the uncertain twitching of Daniel’s face. 

“He’s very drunk,” Jisung says. 

“So you keep saying,” Sungwoon huffs. “If I was drunk, would I be able to do this?”

‘This’ ultimately refers to falling over and Jisung would struggle to guess what his original intent is. Luckily for Sungwoon, Daniel is there to catch him and set him upright once more. Luckily for both Sungwoon and Jisung, Daniel doesn’t mention the ‘ass’ comment and instead is very sweet and helpful, bringing over a glass of water while they wait for Sungwoon’s taxi. After Sungwoon leaves, head hanging out of the taxi window and the driver given strict instructions not to approach the speed limit, Daniel finds Jisung and props himself up on a broom. 

“You’re still here,” Daniel says. He has glitter down his front and there is a strand of blue tinsel lodged between the frazzled sweep of his dyed hair. 

Jisung nods. “I’m still here.”

Daniel smiles and pulls his phone from his apron pocket and slips it back in as he blinks the sparkles out of his eyes. “Can I be hopeful about what this means? That you’ll wait for me to finish work? And then we can go home and wait for Santa?”

Jisung confirms the fact and he laughs when Daniel trips over his broom handle in his haste to help close the strip club. 

It feels strange, waiting around like this and waving goodbye to women whose names he hasn’t learnt as they bid him Merry Christmas and leave. It is even stranger when Daniel drapes his coat over Jisung’s shoulders and asks him solemnly to look after it for him. 

Jisung has barely had two drinks but already he feels shyly elated about the whole thing. His chest feels airy and strange at the fact that someone wants to take him home and keeps checking back with him that he hasn't changed his mind. Even when they are in the car, Daniel keeps glancing at Jisung and asking whether this is real, whether he wants to come home with him. Jisung just laughs each time he assures Daniel even though he should be the one to keep checking. He closes his mouth tightly against the moments his heart squeezes against his ribs too snugly and he steals whatever looks he can at Daniel. He almost manages to act like a normal human being as they are on the way home and he asks Daniel about work and tells him about how boring it is to manage a shoe shop. Daniel laughs in all the right places and even asks questions about stock counting errors and creating shift rotas to fit around flighty employees. 

As unbelievable as the situation is, someone so bright and beautiful chuckling about taking Jisung home, it feels nice and Jisung decides that even if this doesn’t last beyond tomorrow he should make the most of it. The day after tomorrow Jisung will need to return to his normal life, digging through dusty piles of stock for an old woman who demands a discontinued line of insoles and having to have meetings with the part-timers about the till float being down on their shifts. All the while Jisung will be able to remember what it is like for someone to smile shyly at him and ask him how happy he would be to spend the night. 

Jisung is having all sorts of happy thoughts about spending the night and when they pull up to the carpark behind Daniel’s block of flats it takes him a moment to wake up enough to get out of the car. 

Daniel locks the car and holds his hand out for Jisung to join him. It is such a silly thing but Jisung takes Daniel’s hand, the wide warmth of it engulfing his own and Daniel flicks at the bells on the reindeer headband Jisung is still wearing. He laughs and then frowns, going cross-eyed for a moment. 

When Daniel look up to the sky Jisung follows suit and the stars in his eyes every time he looks at Daniel have manifested as snowflakes fluttering gently from the pitch dark above them. 

“It’s the first snow,” Daniel says, grinning. He lowers his gaze to Jisung and miniscule bundles of white are gathered on his eyelashes and clustering on his hair along with that solitary strand of tinsel that has been there since they were at the strip club. 

Jisung has only known Daniel for this evening and it feels to early to think about the other meaning behind the words. First snow. First sight. All the things that happen to happy and beautiful people at those times. But when Daniel’s face turns serious and he asks if they can kiss, Jisung lets himself be brave and meets him halfway. And when Daniel asks if it is alright to introduce him to his cats, Jisung asks if they can make cookies too. 


End file.
